LONGEST DRIVER IN GOLF

Shannon News, 17 March 1925, Page 4

LONGEST DRIVER IN GOLF

Jack Smith And His Methods. (By Harry Viardon, Six Times Champion.) Jack Smith, the long driving champion has been explaining how he hits those mighty tee-shots which, from time to time, electrify the fifing world. There seems to be not tne slightest doubt that Smith is capable of outdriving anybody in this country, indeed, so far as my experience goes, anybody in the world. In this respect, at least,, he has excelled even his fel-low-villager from Forest Row, in Sussex, the renowned Abe Mitchell, who, prior to the advent of Smith, had no need to fear being out-dis-tanced from the tee, whoever he might be called upon to meet. Smith has by no means rivalled Mitchell or other first-class players in the science of golf in all its phases„but there can be no getting away from his powers

in the department that has brought | him re'nown. On two occasions, he has taken part in the long driving competition held in connection with . ,e open championship, and in fields containing nearly all the greatest golfers, of Britain and America, he has won each time. When he went-utter-ly unknown outside the sylvan glades of his native village-to Sandwich m 1922 he gained first place with two drives of 271 yards and 260 yards. He did not compete in the following season, but last year at Hoylake-when three drives counted-he won again, his successful shots measuring 236 yards, 247 yards, and 244 yards. There were some odd feet and inches, but what do such trifles matter in the , midst of this annihilation of distance? Moreover, Smith seems to be adding to hfe capacity in his speciality now that he has gone as assistant to George Duncan at the new club at Wentworth, Virginia Water, • Surrey. In his first competition the other day as a professional, he made a drive on the West Hill course, Surrey, which, in the opinion of responsible onlookers, carried'nearly 280 yards in dead calm. I understand that Mr. T. A. Bourn, a former Cambridge captain, and Jack White, an open ex-cham-pion, playing immediately in front of Smith, were satisfied that its length could not have beeh appreciably less They say that they had both hit good drives from the same tee, played their second shots, and walked on fully 50 yards when Smith’s drive flew oyer their heads! A man who can hit like this! is unquestionably a prodigy in , his 'way. A Manner Of His Own.

I am told, too, that Smith is doing the same kind of .thing at hiß new home at Wentworth, and that already he has been on the green at the longest hole of the course, measuring 660 yards,, with a drive and a sppon shot. It is fortunate for the rest of. us that Providence does not often eOhip these terrific smiters with corresponding ability in the other departments of the game. And what is the secret of Smith’s power? He is by no means a giant i'n stature. He stands about 5 feet, 7 inches; he is sturdy-even thick-set-and probably weighs nearly 12st„ but there is nothing in his appearance to suggest that he possesses unusual qualities in driving. He declares that it is all done with the right hand; that he lifts the club up with the right hand and hits with the right hand, the left being no more than a guide from beginning to end of the swing. It sounds grimly unorthodox, but no doubt it is true. If I remember rightly, Smith holds the club with the right hand well under the shaft; he looks essentially a right-handed hitter. As he grows older, he may find this method perilous i’a the matter of steering a straight line. Indeed, I understand that he finds it full of uncertainty now, which is the reason that in spite of his lo'ag driving, he does not win normal competitions, but very likely it will do him no harm to sow some wild oats and provide some excitement before he settles down to study the art of keeping the shots straight. As somebody had said, very big hitting that goes awry is apt to bo a liability instead of an asset, because it reaches ferociously wild places which are outside the range of ordinary driving. Still, it is an experience, and Smith has plenty of time in .which to learn ,the lesson and become steady.

A Master Maud. From time immemorial, there has been discussion as to which is the master hand in the accomplishment of a golf stroke. A generation ago, the preponderance of opinion was in favour of the left. “Give it the back of the left baud” was the slogan of those days, 1 meaning that the player should be conscious at the impact of letting the left hand lead the right in the hitting Personally, I was never quite sure of the wisdom of this cult. It seemed to me from the outset that the two hands should work in unison, which was why I spent a year working out the principle of tlie overlapping grip system that helps more than any other to make the,two hands operate as one. If, however, there should be an effort to allow one to control the other, I would select the left for the mission. It is the more likely to promote accurate striking. A man who drives, as Smith says he does, with the right hand supreme, is very lucky if he avoids pulling or slicing every other shot. I am told that the player in question is by no means immune from such troubles, although he may not be so severe a sufferer from them us many other big hitters, since, in the driving competitions which lie. has won, he has been one of the comparatively few candidates ,to hit the requisite number of shots within the prescribed course, ai) yards wide. Most of the mighty smiters have had so many shots off the course as to be disqualified.